St. Ignatius Loyola- July 31 Feast Day

All member of the university community are invited to a campus picnic on Thursday 28 to celebrate the feast day of St. Ignatius Loyola (July 31st), put on byAdministration & Student Affairs.

What is a feast day? A feast day is a day set aside by the Catholic Church when we annually celebrate events in the Church's history as well as in memory of apostles, martyrs and saints. By recognizing St. Ignatius' feast day, we celebrate the founder of the Jesuit society.

St. Ignatius was born in 1491, being one out of 13 children to a minor noble family in northern Spain. He grew up with dreams of becoming a member of the knighthood in Spain, doing great deeds, and falling in love. But come 1521, Ignatius' dreams as a young man soon changed when he was severely injured on the battlefield. While he was recuperating, Ignatius unknowingly embarked on a spiritual journey, experiencing a religious conversion. He realized that God had a different set of plans for him and inspired by the life Jesus Christ led and the saints that followed after him, Ignatius Loyola gathered his own insights, prayers, and suggestions into his book, the Spiritual Exercises. With his friends, Ignatius founded the Society of Jesus--or better known as the Jesuits.

In honor of the founding father of the Jesuit society, the library presents some of its collection relating to St. Ignatius and his incredible spiritual journey:

Sunday, July 31: All are invited to a community gathering at 9:30 a.m. for Mass in the Egan Chapel of St. Ignatius Loyola. President Jeffrey P. von Arx, S.J. will preside. Fr. Michael F. Tunney, S.J., the new rector of the Fairfield Jesuit Community, will preach.